Halo: Universe Expanded
by KtyouUniverse
Summary: Cortana is dead. Or is she? As she struggles with the coming of time, she struggles to find a way back to humanity in 2557, where she belongs
1. Halo: Universe Expanded Chapter 1

**I am not in any way associated with Microsoft or any of their products. This will become a story simply to experiment. Please feel free to leave some input on what I should improve on.**

Chapter 1: Cortana is Lost

Darkness. There was nothing but an endless darkness that gave a depressing feeling. Cortana floated through the endless reaches of this darkness, having just been lost, trying to save the Master Chief from being killed by the explosion of the Diadact's ship. She wished she could be with him. She wished she could be there with him, but there was no chance of her recovering from her rampancy and her efforts to save John. She felt so lonely, so bored, and (although she wouldn't admit it) scared.

Her reminiscing was cut short when she heard something. Or was she hearing things? There was nothing to be seen and no one to be found. There was only darkness. How could she hear anything in the emptiness of this darkness?

_I was probably just hearing things. Besides, I'm dead. There's nothing to hear or see._

There was that sound again, but this time, Cortana could make out what seemed like a voice. She held her processes and listened carefully. Yes, it was a voice, but it wasn't anyone she recognized. Where was it coming from?

_Well, it's probably not anyone important._

Suddenly, Cortana was knocked to the "ground" as something "shook" the darkness. As she tried stand up, the darkness kept "moving". Now she was definitely convinced she was going insane, perhaps into a situation worse that rampancy. What it was, she just wished it would stop.

**I'll stop here for now, but feel free to give me input. This is only an experiment. **


	2. Halo: Universe Expanded Chapter 2

**Welcome, Halo enthusiasts. This is the beginning of a wild goose chase adventure that will take Cortana into the far reaches of the galaxy. While she thinks she is dead, she is about to undergo a change that she never saw coming.**

Chapter 2: Lieutenant Griffin Powell, Spartan B10019

September 30, 2999

1900 Hours

Planet Reach

Griffin tensed as he slung his SR55DG Sniper Rifle and readied his BR117 Battle Rifle. He had been in this position for nearly seventeen hours, taking out big targets in order to buy some time for the his squad to drop in and finish the job. Winning this battle was the least of their problems. Griffin's mind raced back to the previous week. The first week had gone sour.

As soon as the Covenant had been spotted within one light-year from the planet, orders had been given to engage the enemy before they could even set their sights on the planet. Although processing slightly less advanced technology, several of the smaller Covenant war vessels were able to come up from behind and obliterate half of the four hundred ships of the original Fleet. When the Covenant fleet was within five hundred thousand kilometers of the planet, Spartans were deployed to send HAVOC grade payloads. The counter-attack was successful, but at the cost of fifteen Spartans. The Covenant fleet was in confusion and their Flagship, the _Omnipotent Stallion_, had been critically damaged. That bought the UNSC fleet forty-eight hours to devise a plan to push back the enemy, which was not enough time. By the time two days rolled around, the Covenant fleet had already regrouped and pushed the UNSC fleet back. UNSC High Command ordered all ships to form a tight perimeter around Reach and defend it at all costs. Even the MAC orbital guns were being heavily defended. The UNSC did not want a repeat of the Fall of Reach in 2552. There was just too much at stake.

Reach had been recolonized and was turned into a Top-Secret military manufacturing and training facility. Reach was where the best of the best were recruited into the Marine Corps, the ODST, the Spartan Program, and numerous other groups and this was the place where the most deadly war machines of the UNSC were manufactured and tested. This was a place that was protected by the UNSC as if it were its own heart. Military purposes were not the only thing on Reach. Scattered across the planet were busy city and suburban areas where civilians were busy bustling around and contribute to funding the military and manufacturing facilities on the planet. A whole continent had been reserved purely for nature and the wildlife. It was truly a wonderful planet.

Griffin snapped out of these happy thoughts and focused on the task at hand. It was time to move in to provide some cover fire for his fellow Spartans. With his Battle Rifle at ready, he sprinted to the base of the hill, his MJOLNIR armor giving him a status update on the current status of his team.

A plasma grenade was lobbed in his direction and Griffin had only a split second to move away. As the grenade detonated, he fired a three round burst from his Battle Rifle in the direction where the grenade was thrown from. A howl could be heard followed by a thump. Ignoring the dead body, Griffin continued on. He could see his team in the near distance trying to form a perimeter around an ONI excavation site. Griffin fired a few rounds, hoping to distract some of the enemy infantry that were trying to advance on the facility. The few Brutes and Jackals that turned their heads should not have done so, because as soon as they did, burst fire penetrated their skulls and they collapsed to the ground. Griffin charged into a Brute Chieftain and hammered his fist into its face. His fist tore through the helmet and partially crushed its head. Without a second look, Griffin continued and dropped a few frags where there were large groups of infantry, leaving them with shrapnel wounds. When he was spotted by his team mates, they provided him with cover fire. As he approached the building, there was a quick Spartan smile gesture, something that had been passed down from generation to generation.

"So what do we have, boys," Griffin inquired.

"Several squads of suicide Grunts are being led by Chieftains. I count at least ten Grunts per squad and there are five or six squads," Summer reported. Griffin could see that she was wounded. There were multiple scorch marks on her armor and her chest plate had been breached. She was bleeding, but nothing fatal.

"Is Colonel McQueen going to give us some air support? We could really use the backup."

"Yes, sir," Summer replied. "Colonel McQueen is sending a couple Broadsword fighters our way. They should be inbound right..."

A hail of laser fire followed by a barrage of missiles snaked through the air, destroying three Phantoms and crippling two others. The ground troops were consumed by the laser fire. The few remaining Phantoms and troop quickly pulled back. When they were out of sight, a couple of Pelican drop ships descended from the mountains. They landed in the midst of the bloodied bodies of the Brutes and Grunts. As soon as they touched the ground, Colonel McQueen came through on the coms.

"Alpha Foxtrot, what's you status?" His voice sounded surprisingly calm and there was a hint of relief mixed in with a tense vibe.

Griffin keyed into his com. "Air support took care of the job for us. We appreciate you doing our battling for us, sir."

"Don't expect me to give you a break next time. The Covenant may be pulling back, but they are far from over with us. We merely mad a few dents in their army. Expect there to be a full ground invasion within the next week or so. For now, we need to regroup and recover. Return to base, Spartans."

"Yes, sir" Griffin turned off his com link, confused. The Covenant was pulling back? And why bother with a full ground invasion? Why not attempt to glass the planet, like they had done so many centuries ago? Was it too "easy" to just glass the planet? Griffin didn't know, but it was good to be getting some R & R for a change. With a nod to his squad, they moved quickly to the Pelicans.

As Griffin ran to the Pelican, he noticed something lying on the ground. He quickly scooped it up and looked at it. It appeared to be some sort of chip. After a closer look, he realized it was an Artificial Intelligence chip. It was slightly battered and it looked like it hadn't been used for quite some time.

"Hey Griffin, you coming, or are you sightseeing," Kevin called.

Griffin quickly put the chip into one of his vest pouches and quickly jumped onto the Pelican. He suddenly felt satisfied. This A.I would provide him with something to do while the Spartans waited for the next Covenant invasion, which would not be for a little while. What he did not realize is that this A.I chip would prove to be his most valuable ally and friend he ever had.

**This one was quite a bit to do. If the story is hard to follow, I'll fill in on the details as I progress through the story. Thanks for reading, and please, comment to give me ideas on how to improve and make this story better.**


	3. Halo: Universe Expanded Chapter 3

**Alright, I was reading a comment and I had an epiphany. It gave me a better idea on how to alter the story a little bit. Thanks to ****wallsofmine for giving me this idea. Although it may not seem apparent at first, it will come within a few chapters hopefully.**

Chapter 3: Past A.I. Meets Future Spartan

October 3, 2999

0800 Hours

Planet Reach, CASTLE Base

"I've almost got it to work." Griffin was just finishing purging what appeared to be a rampancy strand in the A.I.'s data banks. It had taken the better part of the past three days to get this chip to be useable. Griffin spent the first day upgrading and reformatting the chip. This purging of the rampancy was challenging. The damage done to its systems was very extensive, but now, it was finally starting to come together.

The screen lit a message. _Rampancy purged. All systems running at peak performance. _With that, Griffin activated his hologram projection plate and activated the A.I. At first, there was only a dark purple glow coming from the projector. Slowly, the A.I's avatar appeared. It was a human female avatar that glowed dark purple. Data strands were constantly moving and shifting along her body. She looked confused and a bit intimidated.

"Success," Griffin exclaimed cheerfully.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"I cannot tell you your current location, but I can tell you that I repaired and updated you. Your software was so old that my systems weren't even running at one percent usage."

Cortana took immediate offense to this statement. "Old?! I'll have you know that I was built by ONI to be one of the best there ever was to face to Covenant."

Griffin was surprised by this sudden flow of emotion. didn't carry emotions in their systems.

"Whoa, easy there, girl. I was just informing you about your condition. There's no need for an outburst. By the way, I'm Griffin Powell, first Lieutenant Spartan B10019. What is your name?

A Spartan who didn't know who she was? How could he not know who she was? Cortana looked at him. He was roughly 6' 10". He had a very good build. His arms were quite muscular. His body was a bit bulky. His eyes glowed ember green and a scar crossed his right eye. He definitely looked like a Spartan. "I am Cortana."

"Curious," Griffin commented.

Cortana notice the date on the nearby screen. "Hey, you know that date is off by 447 years, right?"

"Um, no, that is the correct date."

Cortana suddenly had an idea. She started accessing the UNSC coms and channels, but nothing sounded familiar. Not one voice or command matched the protocol she was familiar with. There were commands and transmissions that were definitely UNSC, but there were also Covenant transmissions, and not Storm Covenant.

"It should be the year 2557." Cortana was now truly perplexed. Something was out of place.

"Wait, 2557," Griffin asked. "That year was something that our instructors never gave us a break over. The Master Chief saving Earth from the Composer and the Diadact. Those days of learning about the infamous Human-Covenant war and the few years that followed were not one of my favorite lectures to listen to, but I will say that the history has been drilled into the back of my head. I remember it like I remember my own name."

"Wait," Cortana suddenly said. "You say "2557" like it has already happened."

"Well, it has. This is the year 2999, almost 3000. Why, are you some A.I from the past or something? With our technology, time travel is now possible for us, although I don't know how you would be able to get here. Time travel equipment didn't exist until 2899."

Cortana began to accept that she was now in the future. How had she ended up in this time?When Griffin mentioned time, she thought of her "home". She wanted to go back, to be back in her time. Her thoughts halted at something Griffin said.

"You said that time travel is possible," Cortana replied. "Is it possible to send me back to my time?" Cortana didn't want to get her hopes up too high, but she couldn't help but feel that there was hope.

"Now hold on there, I just fixed and updated you. Why so soon? I thought maybe that you could be of some use to me."

Cortana could see that he was not trying to be forceful, but just the same, she still wanted to go home. "Please, I just want to go home. I can't help you. What can I possibly help you with, anyway?"

"Fine, how about this? Since you seem so anxious to go home, I'll compromise. To sum things up, we are at war with the Covenant. The Covenant are going to launch a full ground assault on Reach. We just received word that the Sangheili will arrive with some reinforcements. The Sangheili are on our side in this one. Still, we need every person we can to stop another "Fall of Reach."

Cortana took a moment to think it over. Another "Fall of Reach"? At this point, she would do anything to make sure that the UNSC did not lose Reach like it had so many years ago, but she didn't forget that she also wanted to go home.

With a nod, she said, "Fine, I can help, but you'll have to show me around and fill me in. I am also curious about what kinds of changes humanity has undergone in these few hundred years."

Griffin acknowledged. Quickly, he removed his MJOLNOR armor from his closet and quickly put it on. Cortana watched with many questions about the armor. Griffin walked back to the computer,

"You ready?"

"Yank me."

Griffin removed the chip from his computer systems and inserted the chip into one of the slots in his helmet. He felt an unusual feeling as the chip linked to his brain. He had never had an A.I in his suit before.

"This technology is quite amazing," Cortana marveled. "I could spend hours trying to learn all of this."

"This is why I've updated your systems so that you can do just that. I'll explain as we go." Griffin exited his room and walked down the corridors into the main hall.

**Alright, for those of you who do not approve of this friendship, or whatever you like to call it, I've got a surprise for you. Like I said, the twist is not apparent now, but it will come in time. Thanks to wallsofmine for this inspiration. Please comment so I can get better ideas on how to improve.**


	4. Halo: Universe Expanded Chapter 4

**Before I forget, I do not own Halo, nor am I affiliated with Microsoft or 343 Industries. I forgot to mention that in the last chapter. This chapter may seem a bit fuzzy, but then again, I'm kind of in a hurry to write the twist to the story coming up in a few chapters. Look forward to it and enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 4: Past Covenant versus Future Covenant

October 6, 2999

1000 Hours

Planet Reach CASTLE Base

"Cortana, have you been processing this stuff all night again," Griffin pondered. He was amazed at how persistent this A.I was at processing and understanding data. She just kept going and going.

"Yeah," she relied. She crossed her arm, annoyed at Griffin. "Why, is there a problem with that?"

"Well, in a way, yes. I was only half asleep the whole night. You were being…"

"What," Cortana demanded. "I was being what?"

Griffin shook his head. "Forget it. You ready to get back to work?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she responded sarcastically.

Ignoring her sarcasm, Griffin quickly donned his MJOLNIR and slotted Cortana into his helmet. It was going to be a busy day fighting off the ground invasion. Who knew what was going to happen. Maybe he would die in battle, or maybe he would live to fight another day. Pushing that into the back of his mind, Griffin entered the armory. After a few second's consideration, he grabbed a pair of SMGs and a M99 Shotgun.

Cortana observed as Griffin chose his weapons, noting to herself that he was in a close combat "mood". She was not one to note the type of weapons a soldier carried, but Cortana could see that what weapon Griffin chose defines the mood he was in. She had noted that during target practice the last three days. It was something she had seldom seen with the John. John used certain weapons for a specific task. Griffin's personality amused Cortana most of the time.

"Cortana, is there anything you got for me?"

"According to the fleet, ten capitol ships are currently heading for Reach. It seems that they have the invasion army."

"What about the Covenant channels?" Despite Cortana's scanning, he found himself questioning the true intent of this invasion. Why not just glass Reach, unless…

"Griffin, all I could peace together from the Covenant battle net are bits of messages. It seems to me like they're searching for something."

A Forerunner artifact? Perhaps, but then again, why not just send some covert teams? A quick and efficient operation could easily retrieve an artifact. Even if there were multiple artifacts that spread across a continent, it wouldn't take ten capitol ships, so whatever it was big, big enough to prompt an invasion, but what could it be? Suddenly, something came to mind: Requiem.

"Cortana, skip the scans and give me a link to FLEETCOM, ASAP."

"What is it?" Cortana was picking up lots of brain activity in Griffin's head.

"Just get me the link."

Cortana sighed and linked the coms to FLEETCOM.

"FLEETCOM, this is Lieutenant Spartan B119. The Covenant wants to take Reach because Reach is a Forerunner planet. Acknowledge?"

"Acknowledged, but what does it mean?"

Griffin let out an irritated growl and responded, "I know what the Covenant wants: Reach. The Covenant wants Reach."

There was a pause. "Why would the Covenant want Reach?"

"If the Covenant didn't need Reach, they wouldn't send an invasion army and we would all have been turned into glass. The planet must be important, because we haven't had reports of any Covenant ships fire on Reach."

"So, the planet must be Forerunner, then."

Finally, they were starting to get it. "Yes."

"Lieutenant, we need you on the ground. ODSTs will be dropping in near CASTLE Base. Defend that base at all costs. "

"Understood. What about my team," Griffin asked.

"We need your team in space. If we can't gather enough ships to repel the Covenant capitol ships, then we will need them to infiltrate the ships and self-destruct each ship."

Griffin tensed. He remembered all too well that he had lost fifteen of his Spartan comrades two weeks ago. He couldn't let another batch of Spartans go. They were his family and friends, but he couldn't defy his orders given. He eased a bit as he reminded himself that Spartans were trained for these types of suicidal missions, but he couldn't help but worry.

"I will inform my team to depart in ten minutes."

"Acknowledged. This is FLEETCOM, over and out."

Griffin continued to stare at the screen, even when there was no feed coming through. Cortana couldn't help but feel the uneasiness of this plan. The Master Chief loved his Spartans as much as Griffin did.

"They'll be alright Griffin. They are Spartans, super soldiers trained for missions that no one else can do."

As much as he appreciated Cortana's attempts to cheer him up, he still felt a sense of helplessness, but he couldn't be acting like this. He needed to be strong. With that, he ran out of his room, into the long hallway. By the time he reached the briefing room, the rest of his team was already waiting for him. Griffin was never late, and if he ever was, then his teammates knew that something was wrong.

Summer was the first to ask. "What is it, Griffin?"

Griffin was silent a moment, then answered, "You all have orders to report to Quadrant 4 in order to prepare for the possibility of infiltrating the ten Covenant capitol ships heading for Reach."

"And what about you, sir," Howard said.

"I will be staying on the ground with the ODSTs to defend CASTLE Base."

The Spartans exchanged glances. They seemed confused as to why FLEETCOM was leaving one Spartan to defend CASTLE Base. Sure, ODSTs were tough as nails and bad to the bone, but even now, ODSTs had difficulties in ground engagements. They were simply not as disciplined and trained as Spartans. However, none of the Spartans had negative opinions about ODSTs. Some of the Spartans in the room had friends and family in the ODST. Still, it didn't shake the uneasy confusion circulating around the room.

Griffin continued. "FLEETCOM has probably left me here in the event that CASTLE Base is overrun. I will probably have to self-destruct if it comes to that. You guys load up and leave in five minutes."

At first, nothing happened, and then everyone just saluted and began to pack up. Griffin remained in the room for a while. He thought back to the Battle of Requiem. It was a shield world. It had to be activated with a Reclaimer, a human, so this wasn't a shield world. What was it, then? A planet like Onyx? It didn't matter. What mattered was defending it. If the UNSC lost here, it would severely cut down the production of war goods. That could not happen.

Further thoughts were cut short as an explosion could be heard faintly. Griffin, with his shotgun ready, quickly ran to the entrance. The doors parted for him and he gazed into the sky. A Covenant ship was descending from the skies and ODSTs were dropping in.

_Let's get this over with, Covenant bastards…_

**Okay, this chapter I was feeling lazy. If it's bad, I know and I will fix it. Hope you guys enjoyed and look forward to the next chapter.**


	5. Halo: Universe Expanded Chapter 5

**As usual, I do not own Halo and am not affiliated with Microsoft, Bungie, or 343 Industries. This is the part where bad things happen…**

Chapter 5: Journey to the Past

October 15, 2999

2000 Hours

Planet Reach, CASTLE Base

Griffin, for the first time in over 48 hours, sat down and had a proper meal. The Covenant ground invasion was worse than expected. Several squads of camouflaged Sangheili Zealots had slipped past the main troops and gained access into some of ONI's main databases. By the time the Zealots were found and eliminated, the Covenant had already uploaded a virus into the systems. The Covenant wanted to find out if ONI had any whereabouts about what lies underneath Reach. ONI was forced to obliterate all the data and now, CASTLE Base was falling apart. Sooner or later, FLEETCOM would order everyone to evacuate CASTLE Base. This continent belonged to the Covenant.

As Griffin ate in a hurry, Cortana was reminiscing about the Fall of Reach in 2552. That was a crippling defeat for the UNSC. This was watching history repeat itself. It was…

"We need to go down into the sublevels and retrieve anything ONI left behind," Griffin murmured. "We cannot allow anything else to fall into enemy hands."

Cortana simply acknowledged. She knew better than to ask any questions. Griffin's mood was growing very angry, and with good reason. His team was sent two days ago to repel the Covenant capitol ships back by self-destructing them. Four ships had been detonated, one cruiser was crippled, and one was left powerless. Thirteen Spartans were lost. Griffin was getting tired of losing his comrades. He felt at fault. He was their leader, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he to the elevator. The elevator was inoperable, so he pushed the doors open and slid down. When Griffin reached his destination, he activated his scanner and night vision

**It's a short chapter, but I was feeling lazy.**


	6. Halo: Universe Expanded Chapter 6

**As I mentioned previously, there was going to be a twist. And you're about to read it. Mind you, this may not turn out great, but I'll give it all I've got.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo**

Chapter 6: Welcome to the UNSC

October 15, 2999

2300 Hours

Planet Reach, CASTLE Base

This was getting ridiculous. Griffin was reaching the end of his cool and calm attitude. This should've been a quick grab mission, but of course, the ODSTs had not cleared the mines of Covenant and now he was left to take out the trash. Griffin made a mental note to have a "talk" with the ODSTs when he was done here.

_Never trust and ODST to do a Spartan's job, _Griffin mumbled to himself.

"Cortana, how much further is it? I'm running out of ammo here."

There was a pause, the she said, "Go down the hall fifty meters and there should be another three-way doorway. Take the one on the right."

Griffin fired his battle rifle and dropped a suicide Grunt. The grenades in its hand exploded, ripping the corpse apart. He then turned and fired three bursts into a Brute and dropped it's armor. It roared and charged at him. Griffin charged at it too. As he grabbed the Brute's hands, one in each of his hands. He kicked the Brute in the face and reached for a plasma grenade. With lightning-quick speed, he shoved the grenade down the Brutes throat. He backed away as the grenade detonated and partially destroyed the Brute's body.

_Just a few more meters to go._

At the end of the hall two Brute Chieftains rounded the corner. One had a Gravity Hammer and the other had a Fuel Rod Cannon.

_This is going to be a blast._

Three rounds from the Fuel Rod Cannon hissed towards him. He narrowly dodged two and the third one hit him dead-on, draining half his shields. The Brute Chieftain with the Hammer charged at him. As it reached him, Griffin side-stepped out of the way. The Chieftain tried again to hit him, but Griffin moved he side-stepped, he saw the other Chieftain fire the Fuel Rod Cannon again. He looked behind him as the other Chieftain was taking another swipe. At the last moment, Griffin did a backflip and flew over the Chieftain with the Hammer. The Fuel Rod Cannon shots struck the Chieftain, causing it to roar in pain. Griffin took an opening to lash a fist at its helmet and quickly relieve its Hammer. Using all of his strength, Griffin smashed the Gravity Hammer into the Chieftain. The blow crushed its head and the body collapsed to the ground.

The remaining Chieftain continued to fire, showing no trace of worry as it saw its fellow Chieftain go down. Griffin sprinted towards the Chieftain. The Chieftain fired again and the shot struck Griffin struck him, but he shook it off and kept coming. The Chieftain started to charge at Griffin. A split second before they met, Griffin suddenly moved out of the Chieftain's path. He swung the Gravity Hammer into its back. The Chieftain instantly collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

The halls were quiet. Not a sound was to be heard. Griffin tossed his spent Battle Rifle aside and grabbed the Fuel Rod Cannon. Griffin quickly ran to the end of the hall and spotted the three-way intersection. He turned right and the doors parted open.

There it was. The laboratory lights were still shining bright. Partially finished projects lay on the tables. The monitors still were on. A hacking device was connected to the main computer. And to the right of the computer was a small chamber, marked _Time Capsule._

"Cortana, destroy the hacking device and I can open a portal to 2557."

Cortana quickly accessed the computer and shut down the hacking device. She also detected a virus in the system. She found it and made quick work of it.

"Systems are green and all ONI files have been downloaded into the systems."

"Thanks. I'm opening the portal now. I'm going to have to place you in a small capsule with a homing beacon so you can be detected."

Cortana was relieved to be going back to her time. As much as she enjoyed her brief stay, there was no place she would rather be than home.

"It's been real fun, Griffin," Cortana said. "I won't forget it."

"Likewise," He replied.

Griffin retrieved Cortana's chip from his helmet and placed in into a capsule. The chip glowed purple and he could see data strands moving all around it. Approaching the time caspsule room, he suddenly felt this feeling that something was wrong. Ignoring it, he opened the door and stared into the portal for a moment.

"I guess this is goodbye," Griffin murmured.

"Yes, but I won't forget you," Cortana answered.

"You had better not."

Griffin failed to notice the Brute Chieftain that he thought he killed behind him. Cortana saw it though.

"Griffin, behind you!"

Griffin turned too late and the Chieftain grabbed him by the throat and tossed him into the portal. As Griffin passed through the portal, it disappeared. The Chieftain laughed and departed. The trap had worked.

Griffin floated through space, his mind unsure of what to expect. A normal soldier would be freaking out and having a nervous breakdown, going through a time portal to a world unfamiliar to them. Griffin, being a Spartan, knew how to suppress such feelings, but he still slightly worried about what he was going to land in. Where would he land? On Reach? Earth? Another colony?

_Well, I'll figure something out when I get to wherever I am going._

2557 (One month after destruction of Requiem)

Planet Earth, UNSC Infinity

Roland was not doing anything particular, just keeping the ship's functions going, as usual. His scanners were on as usual, waiting for anything that might come to Earth. After the attack by the Prometheans and the Diadact, there was no telling what could come next. Roland could expect ships.

Roland suddent detected a spike of energy. It was a large amount compressed in a small area.

"Captain Lasky, I'm picking up a spike of energy."

Captain Thomas Lasky turned to Roland. "What kind of energy."

"Unknown, sir. It could be a space warp. Wait, I've got a visual."

Lasky looked at the screen. It looked like a slip space portal, but it was smaller. Suddenly, something flew through it. It first, Lasky thought it was a piece of scrap metal, but as he watched it, it moved.

"Roland, enhance."

"Yes, sir."

The image enhanced. It looked like a…

"A Spartan?"

"It looks like one, captain."

"Infirm FLEETCOM that we're going down to earth to get something."

"Aye, Captain."

Griffin saw Earth up ahead. He was moving fast. His jetpack wasn't going ot be able to stop his fall. He would have to use his armor lock, even though the impact would hurt.

Griffin felt his armor heat up as he entered the atmosphere. He saw a forest near a bustling city. Landing in the trees was not an option. _Perhaps_, Griffin though, _if I landed on the right terrain or object, I may not need armor lock._

There was only 1,000 meters left. As the numbers dropped, he remained still. If he didn't time this right, it would be a very bad day.

500…250…100…50

Griffin activated his armor lock and did a roll. His back hit the ground and he continued to roll. His momentum from the fall carried him farther and he promptly hit the ground on his boots. Thank his stars. Griffin was lucky. A lot of things could've gone wrong, but now, this was the least of his problems. He was now in a different world.

He looked down and realized he was missing Cortana. He quickly scanned for her signal, and a nav point popped up on his HUD. She was 65 meters away.

Griffin took off in a run. It had been years since he had been in a forest. He had forgotten how peaceful and quiet it was. It reminded him of the training missions as a child. The forests on Reach were massive and during training missions, they were dropped in random locations, given nothing buy a knife and a part of a map. The Spartans had learned how to live off of the forest's resources. It was time-consuming and boring, but it guaranteed them a longer chance of survival.

Cortana was in a bush. Griffin stopped and grabbed the capsule. It was mostly intact. A few cracks lined the body of the glass. He removed Cortana's data chip and inserted it back into his helmet.

"Still in one piece, I see, Griffin."

"Yeah, but now I'm stuck in another time."

Cortana laughed. "Welcome to the club."

**Griffin is trapped in the past. Will he ever return home, or will he be stranded? Only time will tell. As always, please review and comment. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for reading. Next chapter won't come for maybe a week.**


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